running one's own web server on OSX.

This probably isn't appropiate for iDevGames, but other forums were too detailed and I trust the caliber of people's knowledge here and so here goes:

I am a control freak and wanted to start just an "educational" (for my education that is) web server, then web page, etc.

I've found a article from O'Reily's site about configuring Apache from step one.

I can see my home page internally, but can't see it externally. The article mentions that some ISPs intentionally disallow their customers from setting up web servers on their computers.

I've got ATT/Yahoo DSL and suspect that this may be the case (although I'm going to try one more thing - changing port 80 to something else).

If so, what outside entity/company/??? do I need to pay/free?? to run my web server? I know that some web hosting sites (like GoDaddy) but I take it this is not the same as a "web server hosting" - if that is a valid term.

I plan to keep this very simple and low key,initially, so I don't need much bandwidth to start out.

I think I just answered my own question after more surfing. On GoDaddy, there is a "Dedicated Servers - the ultimate in performance, control, and convience" I want those three. The "cost" appears to start at about $72 per month.

If you're looking for web hosting, I'd like to throw in a recommendation to try out DreamHost. Their Crazy Domain Insane package costs at little as $7.95 per month, and you get lots of disk space and way more bandwidth than you'll probably know what to do with. I've been hosted with them for over a year now, and I've been very satisfied.

Dreamhost is fantastic for static content, can be slow at times for php generated content.

Still you can find "promo codes" and get the first year hosting and domain for only 30$ ( per year, not per month! )

This is of course a "shared" server (where the server hosts hundreds of websites) which is less flexible and powerful than a dedicated or virtual dedicated one (where you can chose to run any applicaton you want) but easier and just fine for standard web stuff.

If you find setting up your own server viable after all, by finding a non-blocked port, it's not really hard. First, its useful to register with a dyndns service like dyndns.org so you can reach your computer via a name instead of a possibly changing IP address. The OS X vanilla apache install should work if you adjust the port in the config, and you can additionally install apache2 if you need the features. It's not very difficult, really.

I love Dreamhost - just the other day I realized the PHP version they used didn't have a feature I wanted so I used their nice wiki to build a custom version of PHP that would work. I also make heavy use of their free SVN services - it gives me a chance to remotely backup my projects and keep versions.

I don't think he is lookin for a host, he is looking to set his machine as a server so he an educate himself. Mke sure you RTFP.

WhatMeWorry, you should look for a free DNS service. There are many of them out there. Once you have an account, you can point a domain name to your IP. Since they are free, you'll end up with something like: whatmeworry.freecompany.com

That is unless you pay GoDaddy $8 a year for a domain name. First search for the domain name you want. ie. whatmeworry.com Once you buy it, and pay the fee, inside GoDaddy's member section will be the place to point the domain to your address. You should also read up on "Domain Name Servers". ie you will point the domain to the DNS server(s). Like ns1.whatmeworrycorp.com and ns2.whatmeworrycorp.com. Now, if you don't care about all that, and simply want to tell people your IP, then that's OK.

Find out what kind of IP address your ISP gives you. I don't know about the US, but in Japan, a basic plan gives you an IP that is always changing and not much good for web servers. In Japan, we call "global IPs" a static IP that is assigned to your account, which makes it easy to run a web server. Though I hear there are sites to get around the dynamic IP problem.

As you guessed, it may be that your ISP allows only certain traffic in and out. Also look at their "Acceptable Usage Policy" (AUP). It might state, "no web servers and if you run one, we will force you to use a 4800 baud modem" he he

One easy solution on the Mac end, without etting into Apache etc, is to use MAMP. It is a program that contains Apache, PHP, MySQL, etc. Click and go!
You can see sites locally and by openin up your router/Mac's firewall to its port, others can see your site as well. If your goal is web development, that is a good way to go. There is also XAMP, which was PC only before, but now runs on several platforms.

One last thing. Upstream and downstream are very different on most internet accounts, so while your download speed miht be very fast, it will surely be at least 1/2 for uploading... important for running a web server.

Much of the above info is hazy in my brain. I ask MODs with correct info to edit my post and fix any errors/mis-information.

Carlos Camacho Wrote:One last thing. Upstream and downstream are very different on most internet accounts, so while your download speed miht be very fast, it will surely be at least 1/2 for uploading... important for running a web server.

On some ADSL connections it can be even worse: in my case I have 5Mb down/256Kb up

One other thing to take into account is that depending on your router config, you may need to set up port forwarding manually.

I think I've got a real dealbuster. I've read where many ISP intentionally disable Port 80 so you can't set up a web server. I'd imagine ATT DSL (which I have) does this. I've done some research, but just try to read and understand a TOS (terms of service) agreement Makes IRS manuals fun.